Government of Canada Creating Leadership Opportunities for Young Aboriginal Women

Tuesday, June 25 2013

WINNIPEG, June 25, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and Member of Parliament for Provencher, today announced Government of Canada funding for a project that will help young Aboriginal women and girls in Winnipeg participate fully in community life. He made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women.

"Our Government recognizes the enormous potential of girls and young women to succeed and to take on leadership roles in our communities," said Minister Toews. "I am proud that we are supporting this project to help young Aboriginal women become leaders in the Wahbung Abinoonjiiag community.

Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc. is receiving $190,760 in Government of Canada funding for this 24-month project. It will help Aboriginal girls and young women in the North end of Winnipeg enhance their leadership skills. Girls and young women will participate in activities to increase their leadership skills and enhance their knowledge levels by shadowing local women leaders for a day. Participants will be supported to use their newly acquired skills to develop and implement strategies aimed at increasing their representation in leadership roles.

"Our Government is committed to the advancement of women in leadership roles across our country," said Minister Ambrose. "As part of this project, young women and girls in Winnipeg will gain important leadership skills to help them succeed in their communities."

"We are pleased to partner with the Government of Canada to create real leadership opportunities for young women and girls in our community," said Tanyalee Viner, Executive Director of Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc. "By working together to remove barriers these young women face in community life, we will help them to succeed and build prosperous futures."

This project is being supported through Status of Women Canada's Call for Proposals entitled Setting the Stage for Girls and Young Women to Succeed. To date, the Government of Canada has approved more than $5.9 million in funding under this Call for Proposals, for projects that promote leadership and economic prosperity among girls and young women.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting projects that yield concrete results for women and girls while strengthening families, communities and the country. The government's support through Status of Women Canada for community-based projects has nearly doubled since 2007, supporting over 600 projects.